So: In this context the common Hebrew conjunction here is probably better left untranslated or understood as a simple “and” as in Good News Translation.

The city was besieged till … is literally “the city came under siege until…” (see the comments on 2 Kgs 24.10). This passive expression will have to be made active in some languages. Since information about the beginning of the siege is given in verse 1, it may be better here to describe somehow the continuation of the siege by saying “the city remained under attack until…” or “the siege of the city continued until….” Others, however, may find it more natural to say “the enemy soldiers continued to surround the city until…” or “the Babylonian army did not stop their attack until….”

The eleventh year of King Zedekiah refers, of course, to the year of his reign over Judah and not to his age. Since the siege began toward the end of Zedekiah’s ninth year (“the tenth month” in verse 1) and continued into his eleventh year (“the fourth month” in verse 3 below), the period of the siege was approximately a year and a half.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .